Writer Manju Sara Rajan | Fashion Stylist Antara Motiwala For the first time ever, Gauri Khan, both lady of the house and stylist of Mannat, the first home of Bollywood, revealed its styling secrets in our September-October 2014 issue. The heft of Mannat is staggering. The 1920s-era, Grade III heritage structure unfurls in every direction—skywards, backwards and sideways. The neoclassical columned facade of the former Villa Vienna gives away nothing about its residents, except, perhaps, that its proportions reflect the standing of the biggest movie star in the land. Gauri and Shah Rukh Khan’s home has within it five bedrooms, multiple living areas, a gymnasium, library, and everything else a celebrity family needs to be content. Gauri, who styled the interiors of the space, says the effort was intensive and eye opening. “It took years of sourcing, travelling and editing to get to the point where everything looked just right,” she says. In fact, the four years she spent devising Mannat’s interiors turned the once stay-at-home celebrity mother of three into a decorator.

(Left) The focal point of the living area is a canvas by Subodh Gupta, set between a pair of Visionnaire wall sconces. To the right of the second wall light is a framed paintbrush, which belonged to the late MF Husain. Husain had sent it to Shah Rukh Khan after hearing how much Gauri liked it.

Chris Brooks

The main living room is outfitted with faux brick walls, which have an unfinished look. Most of the furniture is from London and Milan, sourced by Gauri Khan on various trips. The room has a fresco-bordered skylight in the centre of the ceiling. It is the only source of sunlight in the room.

(Right) A custom-designed dressing table with an antique mirror is the nexus of Gauri’s dressing room, located next to her bedroom in the family’s private living space. On Gauri: Sequinned shift dress; Anushka Khanna. Gold sandals; Jimmy Choo.

(Left) The collection of antique Christian iconographs on the wall was sourced from Europe. Gauri had the pieces reframed with the help of fashion and interior designers, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla.

IRRFAN KHAN

Writer Raja Sen | Fashion Stylist Akshay Tyagi Arguably the finest actor in current Hindi cinema, Irrfan Khan has moved from a home on Madh Island—a quick boat-ride away from the Mumbai mainland—to a high-rise in Oshiwara, an area close to Lokhandwala, the suburban neighbourhood that houses many of his film and television colleagues. It is a literal hop from the fringes to the thick of it, akin to the actor’s career. In 2015, for instance, he played romantic hero to Deepika Padukone, and then Aishwarya Rai. Going from an off-centre idyll to a mainstream neighbourhood, he’s holding on to what matters most. “It is important for me to have a water body,” Irrfan explains, passionately (and oddly) specific, pointing to something that looks like a Turkish bathtub, a square of blue stone. “It has to have its own ecosystem, survive on its own. That fascinates me. That the fishes don’t have to be given oxygen separately, that the water doesn’t have to be cleaned or changed.” It is, literally, a living room pond. Shabnam Gupta, who designed the interiors, feels this pond—which was relocated from a corner to the middle of the living room—posed a unique challenge. “When he ideates, he enjoys the sound of water,” she says. “But this has to be an extremely controlled amount of sound, otherwise it gets on your nerves. Plus, he wants fishes and lotuses and reeds.” Stepping out of the lift into Irrfan’s fifth-floor apartment is like walking into an inkwell. All is dark-blue, and dimly lit—save for a pair of latticed arches with a cut-out floral motif. The Khan residence—home to Irrfan, his wife Sutapa and teenage sons Baabil and Ayan—is an intimately made one and was featured in our October 2015 issue.

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Portrait Photographer R Burman; Photographer Fabien Charuau

Irrfan Khan and Sutapa in the living room; the sofa is by Peacock Life; the side table and lamps are by local artisans from Rajasthan.

Portrait Photographer R Burman; Photographer Fabien Charuau

(Right) The entrance to the Mumbai home of actor Irrfan, designed by Shabnam Gupta. On Irrfan: Pullover, Canali. Trousers, Ermenegildo Zegna. (Left) In Irrfan’s room and study, the drawing on the wall is by the in-house artists at Peacock Life; the lamp was sourced from artisans in Jaipur; the table and chair are from Irrfan and his wife Sutapa’s collection; the rug is by Peacock Life.

Portrait Photographer R Burman; Photographer Fabien Charuau

In the living room, the lights and sofas were custom-made by Peacock Life. The charpoys were sourced from artisans in Jodhpur. The waterbody is in a blue stone from Nepal; the urn is from Irrfan and Sutapa’s collection. The mirror panel on the wall was sourced from artisans in Jaipur.

Portrait Photographer R Burman; Photographer Fabien Charuau

In the dining room, the tables and chairs are by Peacock Life and the lights were sourced from Jaipur; the mirrored panel was designed and built on-site.

Portrait Photographer R Burman; Photographer Fabien Charuau

The view from the other side of his room and study; the bed was custom-made onsite; the chairs, stand and rug are from Irrfan’s collection.

ALIA BHATT

Writer Divya Mishra | Fashion Stylist Ami Patel Alia Bhatt is refreshingly grounded for someone who spends so much time in the spotlight. Her new home in Mumbai’s Juhu suburb—designed by Richa Bahl—reflects the side of her that the camera doesn’t see. Once she purchased the house—featured in our October 2015 issue, she showed it to Richa, who, after her initial shock—“The place had termites! All the pipes were rotting!”—came up with a plan to design the space around the needs of the two young, first-time homeowners (Alia shares the house with her sister Shaheen), who could then add and subtract things as they went along. The renovation took around a year and a half, and the space’s four bedrooms were reconfigured to three. Richa fashioned Alia’s dressing room into a separate space to ensure the rest of the house would be private, even if the actress was in the midst of fittings. A lobby now separates that space from the large living room, which has turned out to be a cosy mix of New York loft and Swiss chalet, with white walls, comfortable sofas, concrete-tiled floors and expansive windows that incongruously—though not unpleasantly—look out to Mumbai’s very tropical trees. The palette here is surprisingly…well, mature. Alia wanted the space to be as completely removed from the glamour associated with Bollywood as possible, and even the lighting is muted, in deliberate contrast to the harsh spotlight—literal and figurative—in which the actress usually finds herself.

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Portrait Photographer Prasad Naik; Interior Photographer Ashish Sahi

Homeowner Alia Bhatt in a reading corner, by the living room. On Alia: Woollen sweater and cotton pants by Aarti Vijay Gupta; shoes from Jimmy Choo.

Portrait Photographer Prasad Naik; Interior Photographer Ashish Sahi

Alia in her home designed by Richa Bahl. On Alia: Blouse, Dming. Black shorts, Zara. Heels, Nine West.

Portrait Photographer Prasad Naik; Interior Photographer Ashish Sahi

The white sofa and cushioned bench in the living room are from Roche Bobois; the centre table is from The Raj Company; the chandelier is by the Savoy House, Spain, from Cerco Lighting.

Portrait Photographer Prasad Naik; Interior Photographer Ashish Sahi

(Right) A seating corner in Alia’s dressing room; the pendant light is from West Elm; the framed prints are from The Bowery Company, Dubai; the blue vase is from Sanctum; the floor tiles are from C Tribhovandas & Co.

(Left) The pendant lights in the dining area are by Savoy House; the chairs are from West Elm, a furniture store headquartered in Brooklyn.

Portrait Photographer Prasad Naik; Interior Photographer Ashish Sahi

(Right) The make-up area in Alia’s dressing room; the chair is from Ikea; the make-up drawers were custom-made.

(Left) The master bathroom features Devon&Devon fittings, from The Bath Shop; the tiles are from New Saral Ceramic; the tub caddy is from FCML and the candles are from The Bowery Company.

Portrait Photographer Prasad Naik; Interior Photographer Ashish Sahi

(Right) This seating area in the dressing room features a custom-made dress rack; the tiles are from Bharat Floorings.

(Left) Another corner of the living room features a framed Neville Sukhia photograph, a light box from The Bowery Company and a chair from Sidewalks of the World, Mumbai.

Portrait Photographer Prasad Naik; Interior Photographer Ashish Sahi

(Right) The cushioned seating is from Resolute Lifestyles, and the tiles are from the Heritage collection by Bharat Floorings.

(Left) The one thing the sisters insisted on in the house was a “tea bar”, because apparently, they’re both “really into tea. Just totally obsessed,” says Alia.

PARINEETI CHOPRAWriter Gauri Kelkar Slipping into her role as homeowner, actor Parineeti Chopra made an impressive debut with a sea-facing Bandra house in Mumbai that was on our May-June 2016 cover. Speaking about her home, which is layered with facets of her personality, she says, “I was 155 per cent involved in this project.” Hearing her rattle off details about it with the practised ease of a statistician talking about data, her involvement is apparent, the mathematical hyperbole notwithstanding. The minute you step into the entrance passageway and see the whimsical details—the key holder that spells out ‘drama queen’, the miniature guitar and bike replicas on the wall—you know this house is going to be unlike anything you might have previously imagined. It’s a fun space; born not in an architect’s office, but in the charged, active mind of its owner. There was, of course, the small matter of changing the interiors, which required an architect, and Parineeti found one in Shabnam Gupta, founder of architectural firm The Orange Lane, and lifestyle store Peacock Life.

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Philip Sinden

(Right) Parineeti Chopra leans against a wall of the den, which is decorated with the covers of her favourite books; behind her is the living room. (Left) A corner of the living room cabinet behind the leather sofa.

Philip Sinden

Parineeti on her balcony; the foliage-lined path leads to the powder room.

Philip Sinden

The custom-designed herringbone patterned sliding doors open to reveal the den.

Philip Sinden

The den is fitted with shelves, which are filled with DVDs, books, memorabilia and souvenirs collected over the years; the niches to the left hold Parineeti’s awards; the “American-sized” sofa was made by Gulmohar Lane.

Philip Sinden

The living room opens out to the balcony; the two sofas were custom-made for Parineeti by Gulmohar Lane; the upholstered coffee table in the living room is from The Charcoal Project; the side table was an antique trunk bought from Chor Bazaar and painted red.

Philip Sinden

(Right) A corner of the living room cabinet behind the leather sofa.

(Left) The lamp above the dining table was custom designed by Shabnam Gupta. Originally in white, Parineeti had it painted pink to match one of the dining chairs. The Manhattan skyline triptych along one wall was also digitally treated to complement the chairs.

Philip Sinden

(Right) One wall of the master bathroom is engraved with the names of Parineeti’s favourite cities; the black-and-gold fittings are by Kohler. (Left) The brass fittings in the powder room are some of Kohler’s flagship products; the shallow washbasin in the centre is also made of brass; a pair of antique sewing-machine stands, which Shabnam found in a mill and treated in brass, were placed below the counters on either side of the washbasin.

SONALI BENDRE AND GOLDIE BEHLWriter Divya Mishra | Interior Stylist Pete Bermejo | Fashion Stylist Nikhil Mansata When actress Sonali Bendre asked long-time friend and interior designer Sussanne Khan to renovate her Mumbai home, she discovered in her, a sister in style and spirit. Located on the fifth floor of a standalone building in Juhu—home to vast numbers of Mumbai’s film fraternity—the house is easy enough to find, but only if you know how. (Don’t go by the address or directions; accost the nearest security guard and ask for Sonali Bendre’s house.) Sonali and her husband, filmmaker Goldie Behl are part of a joint family. The work on the house began in 2010, when their son Ranveer had his room moved downstairs. “Sonali wanted to create more space in her living room,” said Sussanne and it was a brief that she instinctively understood. “When I first saw the house, there was a feeling of it being a little closed. I wanted to open it up and make it more airy and spacious, but without losing its warmth,” she added. Sussanne’s initial efforts were directed towards dividing the spaces effectively. “Because we didn’t have high ceilings here, we had a restriction of light. We needed to create a kind of continuous flow of energy so the space could look bigger,” she said. This she achieved by ensuring that the spaces meld into each other and that the palette of muted background colours is consistent throughout. This tale of Sussanne’s transformation of Sonali’s home was featured on the cover of our November-December 2013 issue.

(Left)Overlooking the sitting room, the den accommodates Goldie Behl’s home theatre system, work desk and his DVD collection. The tufted-fabric-covered sliding door is lined with cork to ensure perfect acoustics.

Montse Garriga

(Right) The living area is centred around an antique filming trolley that Sussanne found in Paris and converted into a table.

(Left) The Gothic-inspired glass partition was custom-made by Sussanne according to Sonali’s specifications.

Montse Garriga

(Right) The edginess of the metal chest of drawers is balanced out by the flowing linen curtains.

(Left) Leading to the dining area, this nook features a Gothic-inspired armchair from a previous renovation, and original 1930s army camp lights.

Montse Garriga

(Right) Overlooking the sitting room, the den accommodates Goldie’s home theatre system, work desk and his DVD collection. The tufted-fabric-covered sliding door is lined with cork to ensure perfect acoustics.

(Left) A wall of the sitting area is adorned with art from Sonali’s personal collection.

Montse Garriga

(Right) The ornate silver mandir is placed against a wall lined with gunmetal sheets. On the linen sofa are Andrew Martin ‘Mohave Buff’ cushions. (Left) The set of brass sculptures is Sonali’s own.